During her years as the
Empress of the North, the ship ran aground five times. She hit bottom during her launching from the yard when the restraint system failed and some of the boat builders had to jump in the waters of Puget Sound to avoid being run over. She struck a
navigation lock in October 2003 at the
Ice Harbor Dam on the
Snake River, and suffered another grounding in November 2003 near
The Dalles in the Columbia River. She grounded again in March 2006 near
Washougal in the Columbia River. Early on May 14, 2007, the
Empress of the North struck Rocky Island while navigating a 90-degree turn to starboard about from
Juneau, Alaska in
Icy Strait. She began taking on water, forcing all 248 passengers to abandon ship. Reports that the vessel either grounded on Hanus Reef, several miles away, or later drifted there were in error. Several fishing boats, a tugboat and barge, another small cruise ship, and the
Coast Guard Cutter Liberty evacuated the Empress' passengers, who were eventually transferred to the Alaska Marine Highway ferry Columbia. There were no injuries, and the rescue effort took place in relatively favorable conditions, amid intermittent rain showers and light winds. Though the
Empress of the North had developed a 6-degree list, 33 members of the crew stayed aboard to facilitate the vessel's return to Juneau under her own power. She was escorted en route there by Coast Guard helicopter and a third small cruise ship. The
National Transportation Safety Board undertook a multi-month investigation, concluding that the "probable cause" of the accident was primarily the inexperience of a ship's officer. The
Empress of the North was repaired at the shipyards of Vigor Industrial in
Portland, Oregon, by Vigor Marine LLC, and returned to service on July 7, 2007. ==Renaming and return to service (2014)==